Ling Zhang was still having a class and unaware that his grandfather had acted so quick that the revamp of the manor had already started. There hadn’t been any rumors about the transaction in the capital city, because the family of the Marquess Ning’an were unwilling to disclose it to outsiders for fear of losing face. Former owners of those courtyard houses were merchants, and the merchant circle was very different from the dignitary circle, so it was impossible for news of this kind of things to reach their ears.
During the riding lesson in the afternoon, however, there was a blip.
As coincidental as it had been the last time, Ling Zhang and his friends were attending a riding lesson with Jiang Yu. Another group of people were also present.
Snowflake the horse, which was Ling Zhang’s steed, drew numerous people’s eyes as it made its appearance. Added to this was his reputation in the Imperial College. Almost everybody present knew who he was, and he naturally was the focus of attention in the field.
When Ling Zhang, Yuwen Jin and the others arrived, Jiang Yu and his cronies were already there. Their arrival was accompanied by a lot of noises, so naturally Jiang Yu and the others noticed.
“This Ling Zhang guy is getting cockier by the day.”
As usual, it was Zuo Yuanping standing behind Jiang Yu who spoke. After saying this, he specially looked at Jiang Yu to see his reaction. On that day, at the front gates of the Imperial College, Jiang Yu rebuked him after he made a nasty remark about Ling Zhang, and he was astonished, wondering why Jiang Yu suddenly changed his attitude. He had a history with Ling Zhang and didn’t want to see Jiang Yu and Ling Zhang bury the hatchet, but he didn’t dare offend Jiang Yu either, so after saying this, he flicked a tentative glance at Jiang Yu. Seeing no particular reaction from Jiang Yu, unaware of what Jiang Yu was thinking about, he added, “Marshal Yuwen is nursing injuries at home, but he, instead of staying with him and tending him, came to this place. Why does the Marshal has his eye on a man of this kind when he obviously deserves someone much better?”
“Would you knock it off?”
Jiang Yu turned around and looked at him coldly. “Like I said that day, if you say another word about this, you’ll have to leave this group.”
Zuo Yuanping went pale-faced and somewhat embarrassed. “Jiang Yu, don’t you think Ling Zhang is being unbearable?”
“Beat it.”
Since Jiang Yu had given the word, all his cronies acted accordingly and soon forced Zuo Yuanping out of the group. Zuo Yuanping was no longer welcome in Jiang Yu’s clique.
Zuo Yuanping was indignant but didn’t dare say anything, his fist clenched. ‘Jiang Yu!’
“Who’s that?” someone beside him suddenly said.
Zuo Yuanping looked in that direction and saw that a student walked up to Ling Zhang, said something and with that everybody beside Ling Zhang had an odd expression on his face.
“So you’re Ling Zhang. Can you play qin (a seven-stringed plucked instrument in some ways similar to the zither)?”
Ling Zhang was thrown into perplexity by this person who had suddenly shown up and asked him whether he knew how to play qin.
“I want to have a qin competition with you. Both of us play the tune ‘Commencement of War’.”
A muscle twitched at the corner of Ling Zhang’s mouth. Commencement of War? What was this guy talking about?
“I don’t know how to play the tune ‘Commencement of War’. Even if I did, I wouldn’t compete with you just because you asked. You haven’t identified yourself, and none of your words make any sense. How about you tell me why you want to compete with me on the proficiency in ‘Commencement of War’?”
Seeing the hint of inexplicable hostility in this person’s eyes, Ling Zhang couldn’t help but give a sneer.
Yuwen Jin’s and the others’ faces also fell, their eyes fixed on this student who had suddenly come to challenge Ling Zhang. “Who are you?”
“Who is he? Yesterday–”
A hiss was heard.
A person beside the student had just wanted to say something when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his knee, and with that his legs buckled and he slumped to his knees.
“Is such a high level of formality really necessary?” Ling Zhang looked down at the person kneeling on the ground, an flinty look on his face.
“What happened to you?” Seeing his companion suddenly kneel down with a miserable face, the student who had just challenged Ling Zhang to a qin competition went somewhat flurried.
Because of the noises, all others moved their eyes in this direction, wondering what was going on.
With an apathetic expression, Ling Zhang glanced at Miao Shiba out of the corner of his eye. Just now there’d seemed to be a gleam shooting into that person’s knee. If he had seen correctly, it was Miao Shiba who’d done it.
With a thoughtful look, Ling Zhang ignored the two people, one kneeling and the other crouching, and said, “No matter who you are, I’m not interested in this kind of farce, and neither do I have the time for it. Be smart and stay away from me or there will be consequences.”
Seeing his companion yelling “My leg’s broken!” with an anguished, pallid face, the student who had challenged Ling Zhang to a competition also paled visibly. He turned to look at Ling Zhang, a faint mixture of wariness and fear in his eyes. “You did this?”
“You’re such a weirdo. We have every reason to suspect that you’re trying to frame Brother Zhang. This guy had barely finished a sentence when he knelt to the ground and started whining as though we did something to him. Use your brain, will you? And tell us who sent you here to make trouble for us.”
Yuwen Jin frostily eyed the two people, arms crossed on his chest.
On hearing the rebuke, the student clenched his teeth. “Arrant nonsense! I just want to have a qin competition with Ling Zhang.”
“Qin my ass! Get lost!” Yuwen Jin glared at him, his fists clenched, making it obvious that he’d beat him up if he didn’t leave right away.
“My leg… My leg hurts so badly! Help me! Send for a physician!”
The man wailed in pain on the ground was reduced to tears. The student’s face was full of anger but there was nothing he could do to vent it. His companion was tightly holding on to him asking him for help, and he couldn’t ignore him…
Ling Zhang rolled his eyes upwards, couldn’t be bothered to say another word, turned around and left.
Yuwen Jin and the others naturally followed in Ling Zhang’s wake. Before leaving, Zhao Jiusi thoughtfully tossed an appraising look at that person’s figure and looks, a flicker of suspicion crossing his eyes.
Seeing Ling Zhang walk away, Miao Shiba felt a sense of relief. When he looked at the student again who’d tried to provoke Ling Zhang, the expression in his eyes was icy cold and highly admonitory.
Distantly, lookers on fell into discussion after seeing this.
“I think that man is that what-d’you-call-him living in Tangfeng Garden who comes from a small city and is good at playing qin.”
“Why did he try to provoke Ling Zhang? He’s got a lot of balls.”
…
At dusk, before Ling Zhang returned home, Yuwen Tong came to know this matter, his face darkening. Because of Peng Fang’s previous attempt to have Ling Zhang poisoned, he had been meaning to fix Zhou Mingyuan for quite some time. If it weren’t for the fact that the time was not ripe yet, he would never have tolerated this kind of thing. He had let Zhou Mingyuan get away with his ridiculous arrangement for that qin master to seduce him, but making trouble for Ling Zhang was beyond the pale.
…
That very night, the King Duan’s henchman returned to the King Duan’s residential compound in haste and went to the study.
“Your Highness, that qin master came here to ask for help. A meridian in his left wrist got hurt and he can never play qin again. Also, the Imperial College expelled him, saying that he committed misbehavior. He implores you to offer him help.”
The King Duan knitted his eyebrows. “How did that happen?”
His henchman hesitated for a while and then said, “He went to Ling Zhang and kicked up a stink, which came to Yuwen Tong’s knowledge.”
The King Duan’s face fell. After quite a while, he instructed, “Send him home. Tell him not to show his face in the capital city again.”
“Your Highness?”
The King Duan had a sullen countenance. He originally had intended to use the qin master to curry favor with Yuwen Tong, but Yuwen Tong had not only shown no interest whatsoever but also wounded the qin master. Yuwen Tong knew the qin master served him, but he’d done it anyway. This was clearly a warning for him!
“Send him away.”
“Ur… Yes, Your Highness.”
After his henchman left, the scowl on the King Duan’s face still hadn’t ebbed. The reason why he’d always wanted to draw Yuwen Tong over to his side was because of his military leadership, but Yuwen Tong was unbelievably insensible – he’d given various hints to Yuwen Tong, but he still remained indifferent. And today he’d inflicted such a humiliation on him.
If it weren’t for his longing for the throne, he would never fawn on Yuwen Tong again and again!
The only thing that was luck for him was that though Yuwen Tong refused to side with him, he hadn’t made overtures to any other sides. It was okay that Yuwen Tong didn’t want to serve him, but if he was insensible enough to take anybody else’s side, he would have no choice but to eliminate Yuwen Tong.
…
After returning home, Ling Zhang took a bath first and changed into clean robes.
“Mr. Ji bought a manor outside the city and has hired some craftsmen to revamp it.”
Ling Zhang, who had just sat down, dilated his eyes at this message. “So soon?”
“Mr. Ji did it very fast, and not via the real estate trading center. I think he’d had everything planned out some time ago.”
Yuwen Tong told Ling Zhang where the manor Ji Yin had purchased was, a rather resigned expression on his face. He couldn’t stop Ji Yin, so he’d had no choice but to quickly send some men there to help. Fortunately Ji Yin hadn’t declined his offer, and Yuwen Tong had heaved a sigh of relief after being informed of it.
When stopping him was not an option, helping him was his only choice.
Ling Zhang was astounded by the efficiency with which his grandfather had handled this matter.
“The Marquess of Ning’an feels ashamed to have sold the manor, so he didn’t disclose it to anybody, and neither did any of the other merchants. So far hardly anybody has come to know about this matter.”
After hearing this, Ling Zhang felt a faint sense of relief. He’d been worried that what his grandfather was going to do would attract a lot of people’s attention and get himself in trouble.
Yuwen Tong took a dry towel to wipe Ling Zhang’s hair, gently massaging his acupoints. “I heard that someone tried to make trouble for you. Was it true?”
Ling Zhang’s eyes flickered briefly, and he replied, “Nothing serious. Just a little thing.”
Yuwen Tong, seeing that he didn’t seem to be unhappy, was slightly relieved. Although those annoying flies had been the King Duan’s doing, he still had a somewhat guilty conscience and worried that Ling Zhang might be angry.
“By the way, the trade caravan sent a letter here, saying that everything’s fine and they’re close to Yanzhou.”
In the afternoon a letter for Ling Zhang had been delivered to the residence. As it was from the trade caravan, Yuwen Tong had taken the liberty of reading it. The originally obscure trade caravan had shot to fame because of Ling Zhang and him. When it’d left the capital city heading back for Tanyang, it’d been more than twice its original size, and it had departed in massive, streaming columns. There was no need for them to worry about its safety. Any gang who wanted to lay hands on this trade caravan had to consider whether they stood a chance of defeating Marshal Yuwen’s army before making their move.
Ling Zhang, being massaged, felt very comfortable and gradually became languid, his broad collar hanging askew, revealing his long, white-skinned neck, pert collarbones and gracefully shaped shoulder, all of which were gleaming in the lamplight. The look on Yuwen Tong’s eyes changed at the sight of it. Slowly, his hands massaging Ling Zhang’s crown acupoints started misbehaving, sliding to his shoulders.
Enjoying the massage very much, Ling Zhang hadn’t noticed the change of mood in the room. It was only when Yuwen Tong nibbled his shoulder, the tip of his tongue tracing circles on it, that he came to realize what was happening. As the soft touch of Yuwen Tong’s tongue circled a spot repeatedly, a limp and numb sensation rapidly shot from his tailbone to the back side of his head, and his waist gave a shudder.
“Um… Stop that.”
Ling Zhang tried to pull his shoulders in but failed. The last syllable of his words was quivering, which further aroused Yuwen Tong. Satisfied with Ling Zhang’s reaction, he curled the corners of his mouth in a smile, the longing in his eyes deepening.
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